Precocious Lady soars to Saratoga victory
October 18, 2018,by Mike Sardella, for Saratoga Casino Hotel
Saratoga Springs, NY — After a slow start to her 2018 campaign, an improving Precocious Lady soared to a resounding six-length victory in Thursday’s (Oct. 18) $8,500 feature for New York-sired trot at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
Melissa Simser-Iovino photo
Precocious Lady drew off to a resounding victory at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
The 3-year-old Lucky Chucky filly got her career off to a strong start as a freshman in 2017. The Margaret Spagnola trainee raced seven times as a 2-year-old, recording three wins and hitting the board on three other occasions. This season, however, hasn’t been as smooth for Precocious Lady, but she did come into Thursday’s event with a win and three third-place finishes in her last five starts.
Drawing the rail, Precocious Lady had leading driver Billy Dobson in the sulky, who perhaps used a bit of caution in the early going as the filly was coming off of a break. After getting away third from the rail, Precocious Lady swung first-over and powered past the leader before drawing off to a resounding six-length victory on a chilly autumn afternoon in upstate New York.
Precocious Lady’s win, which came in 2:01.3, was the second of the day for her owners and trainer, as Jim Corona and John Shufon teamed up with Spagnola earlier in the card for a win with veteran trotter Quick Feet. The son of Crazed cruised to a 4-1/2 length win, scoring for the second time in just five days. Both of his victories this week came with Frank Coppola Jr. in the sulky. Corona and Shufon have been longtime partners in the horse business, enjoying perhaps their greatest success with Mr One Eyed Jack who was named Saratoga’s Pacer of the Year in 2004 while a member of the Spagnola stable.
Live racing continues on Friday evening (Oct. 19) at Saratoga with a 6:45 p.m. first post featuring a Pick-5 carryover of $1,673.